In addition to this web site, you can find me on the blogosphere at Pastor Zip's Blog, where I offer occasional reflections (on all sorts of matters, though usually related to the Faith and the Church) from my perspective as a Parish Pastor. My other blog, 21st Century Whig, occasionally reflects on public life from a perspective that has gone out of fashion.

I fell in love with baseball thanks in part to the Los Angeles Angels who then played at Chavez Ravine. I lived and died (okay, mostly died) with them when they moved to the Big A as the California Angels. It was harder to follow the Anaheim Angels quite as closely from Peoria — even in 2002 when we became the World Champions of Major League Baseball. But thanks to SiriusXM Radio, I've been able to keep up more closely with my beloved Los Angeles Angels, who in recent years have generally been at (or near) the top of the American League West.

Other things I enjoy include: science fiction, space exploration (yes, I Wanna Go!), short wave radio, popular music of many eras, history, politics, and automobiles. But to be honest, most of my life revolves around the Church, from the congregation I serve to the theological discussions and debates that happen across the nation and beyond. Watch as more links slowly appear here and around my entire site.

Over the 24 years I've lived in Peoria, our local professional baseball team has been affiliated, at one time or another, with both of the nearest National League teams. At my arrival a Class-A farm club of the (2016 World Champion!!!) Chicago Cubs, a team I already loved as a boy in the late '60s and early '70s, the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League are once again affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. That's bounced back-and-forth a few times since I've lived in Peoria.

Minor league baseball can be quite fun to watch and the Chiefs have often had one of the better teams in the league. Curiously, it was during years the team played poorly that future major league stars like Yadier Molina (early 1998), 2015 American League MVP Josh Donaldson (2008), and three-time National League MVP and current L. A. Angel Albert Pujols (also NL Rookie of the Year in 2001 and Midwest League MVP for 2000) played in Peoria. Since 2002 the Chiefs have been playing at the very nice downtown ballpark, Dozer Park.